Sue asks…
Planning a wedding on small budget? What do you think about my ideas?
I plan on having a beautiful wedding on a small budget… way less than $10,000 dollars. I plan on having 100 or so people. So do you think I can pull it off? I truly think it’s very possible! I want to prove to the wedding industry that I can do this!
I’ve already found a wedding reception hall that is way under $1,000 and the place is beautiful. The reception hall will provide us with tables and chairs. I might have to rent chair covers and table cloths. (Which I don’t mind.) The reception hall will also provide us with plates and few other kitchen items.
I think I’m going to recruit a lot of my family members and friends to help me out with the wedding. I want a family oriented wedding where my friends can feel as if their apart of my family. I don’t want a huge expensive show. That’s why I’m choosing to have a DIY wedding reception that looks expensive. Everyone I know is pretty creative. I’m a very crafty person so I plan on making all the wedding favors, wedding programs, boutonnieres, decorations, wedding invites, wedding pillow, etc. I found a beautiful scrapbook in my room that I plan on using for my wedding as a guestbook. The cost: Free! I’ve got beautiful picture frames in my room of my fiance and I. Those pictures will be used at my reception. I even might have my finance and I grow our own flowers for the wedding. The more things that I can make by hand for our wedding, the more money my fiance and I will be saving. Which I believe to be true!
I found a restaurant that caters on great budget. I don’t plan on getting a fancy wedding cake from a bakery. I might just get myself a store bought wedding cake. My moms friend owns a dress shop and she can get me a great deal on a simple wedding dress. I might hire my aunt who takes professional looking pictures in her spare time to be my photographer for the wedding. I also know other people who too are good at photography. I will hire a DJ because my fiance and I love music so much. I think that I will be buying my own liquor for the wedding and having a family member of mine who doesn’t much like to dance be a bartender.
I’m so excited to be planning my wedding with my fiance. I think he’s going to be excited too. Were both crafty people. So we plan on using our imagination for this wedding. I love my fiance so much and I can’t wait for our special day that will occur sometime next summer. Wedding planning for me has been very exciting because I don’t feel so stressed out. My wedding is just one day and it’s day that I want to remember but I also want my family and friends to remember the day as well. When I first started doing wedding research I felt overwhelmed.
So what do you all think of my ideas? Can I pull this off? I think it’s possible to have a beautiful wedding on a small budget. I hope to inspire others also when they plan their wedding. So I want your input?
top answer:
My wedding budget was $5,000, with a $2,000 honeymoon included. So girl, I KNOW you can do this!!
Have fun, be creative, and don’t stress if everything doesn’t go exactly as planned.
As you are aware, don’t feel shy asking friends and family for help, make it a real sharing (and caring) experience.
And a plain cake, for 150 people should only cost $150 or so, then YOU get to decorate it they way YOU want.
Richard asks…
Who has suggestions on how to pay for a wedding reception for 2000 guest on a budget of $2000.00 .?
Considered cake and punch only.
Number of guest not optional.
Sell banquet tickets to help cover food cost, $.50 (fifty cents) per ticket will be the gift.
There is an offer on the table from co-workers to pay for, but this could be looked at as a conflict of interest.
top answer:
This has to be a typo! Surely not 2000 people! Thats for celebs and presidents. I can’t see there is any real way to pull it off for $2000. I am not sure of the conflict of interest you mention, but it seems like a great offer to me! But, if your whole budget it $2000 how are you going to pay for venue,dress, rings etc.? Don’t get me wrong, if you can do this – then let me know exactly how you did it. Lots of luck
Jemima asks…
HELP! Need to help planning my wedding under a $2000 budget.?
I live in Sacramento, CA. My wedding date is set for this October this year. It is still severla months away yet, I have not been able to find a place to hold our wedding. I can’t decide where either in Sacramento or Lake Tahoe area to hold our event that is affordable since I am restricted to a $2000 or under budget. My fiancee has a large family. Mine, on the other hand, is rather small. Both our families would like to somehow partake in the wedding, but if you take in the cost of food and drinks and the reception fees for most places, it far exceeds our budget. My fiancee had mentioned the idea of us just getting married (elopement style) and having the honeymoon all at one destination site – (i.e. Hawaii) and later on have a reception with both our families after we can afford to have one. Another idea I had was to have our ceremony in Lake Tahoe (elopement style) yet it could include my maid of honor (MOH) and his grooms man and maybe a friend of the family who can take our photographs (another way to stay within budget). And then in a week, two or three, have a reception where the entire family after we are married to include everyone. And then even later…a honeymoon. ***I don’t know how much you need to save to have a proper reception in Sacramento, CA – food and drink prices are what I have seen outrageous – Any suggestions?*** In regards to our ceremony, reception, honeymoon and restricted budget dilemma, my only concern is that we will have to put so many things off due to saving for the reception and later on the honeymoon…that it is my fear that it likely they will never happen which is why the 1st option looked more promising. If there is anyone out there who has ever planned a wedding the cheap….please I seek your expert advice and assistance!!! Thanks 
top answer:
Plan your wedding in your home or a family member’s home that is large enough to accommodate a wedding. Make a limited number for your guest list, and tell both sides that you would love to have more, but your location and budget does not allow for it, so please no surprises or additional guests. Check with a local cooking school and see if they can suggest someone to cater that would not be too expensive. Make your food buffet style instead of sit down style or hors d’oeuvre style. Buy your wedding dress on sale or second hand.
Here are some sites that might help you.
Http://www.ehow.com/how_2245184_plan-wedding-under.html
http://diy.weddings.com/
http://cheap-wedding-plans.com/
http://www.planmycheapwedding.com/
http://www.diynetwork.com/topics/weddings/index.html
http://www.favorideas.com/learn-about/saving-money/low-budget-wedding-reception/
Just remember to enjoy yourself and not stress over it too much. The day will be a great memory, even if some things might not go as planned. Just laugh, and think that this will be a fun story to tell our children when we get older. Congrats, and best wishes for a wonderful future.
Lizzy asks…
Hey anyone have advice on how to have a wedding on a 2000 to 3000 dollar budget?
Me and my fiance want to have a nice wedding with out having to get married in the court house…We are trying to save for a house and we have 2 small boys so we really don’t have a lot of money for a big wedding. So can any one help us !! ??
top answer:
Here’s some advice – hope this helps!
1) Get married on an “off” day and month. Getting married on a Sunday in February (like President’s Day weekend) or in March would probably save you tons. Our venue offers wedding packages for half off from January-March.
2) Use “do it yourself” invitations from Target, Michaels, or Wal Mart. You can get DIY programs, save the dates, etc. Do them on your own computer and save tons of money.
3) Buy your wedding dress from craigslist or ebay. You can get new ones on there, but you can get GREAT deals on used ones. I found a used Maggie Sottero gown for $140. It was originally $1200. 
4) Hire a professional florist for the bouquets and boutinierres, but do the centerpieces yourself. You can get flowers in bulk from Costco or Sam’s Club and do a very very simple centerpiece. There are tons of great ideas on theknot.com and Martha Stewart Weddings.
5) Consider having your wedding at 3:00 so that people aren’t expecting dinner. That way you can serve heavy appetizers. If you need to serve a meal – buffet is going to be cheaper than a plated dinner ( example – $25/person for the most expensive buffet option, but the cheapest plated dinner is $35/person).
6) Consider hiring an art student with an eye for photography as your wedding photographer.
7) Use an IPOD connected to a speaker system rather than a DJ.
Have a close friend get certified to be the officiant at your wedding! They can do it online and it would be special for the two of you and save you some $$!
Alright – hope that helps!
Don asks…
where in miami beach, i can have a beach wedding, on a budget of $2000?
looking for a nice park or beach location in Miami or Miami Beach that is not too expensive for a wedding.
top answer:
Here are some sites that might give you the answer
Http://www.miamiweddingplanner.com/low-budget-wedding.htm
http://www.gatheringguide.com/event_directory/rc/fl_florida/miami_beach/evl_wedding_officiants.html
http://www.respond.com/profile/1720000053/1771856
http://www.answer.co.za/3j2x3P2M1tX5
http://www.miamibeach411.com/weddings/liscense.html